A man sells bread under the ruin of his bakery destroyed by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, file)

State lawmakers representing areas with high military recruitment rates remain silent on whether they support President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which would likely involve military action.

After Trump’s initial press conference with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, where he did not rule out using the U.S. military to remove nearly two million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, the president doubled down on his plans despite widespread backlash. In addition to outlining U.S. ownership of the Gaza Strip, one of the most highly contested pieces of land on the planet, Trump wants to force surrounding countries like Egypt and Jordan to take in millions of people who do not want to leave their land.

The plan has been rejected by Egypt, Jordan, several foreign nations and the Palestinian people, sparking concern as to how Trump plans to follow through with this policy. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeled the plan “a major threat to world peace.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt walked back Trump’s potential military use, saying the displacement of Palestinians would be temporary and U.S. taxpayers would not pay for the Gaza rebuild. However, in an interview with Fox News’ Brett Baier released on Monday, Trump contradicted his administration by saying the Palestinians would not be allowed to return.

Republicans have been relatively gun-shy on the issue, which flies in the face of Trump’s own “America First” agenda. Trump has also lambasted previous administrations for foreign intervention in the Middle East for years. Despite the hypocrisy, U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) indicated support for using the military to displace Palestinians, which some experts say could be considered a crime against humanity.

Adam Coogle, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division, told the Associate Press that if Palestinians are removed with intent, it could be considered a war crime.

“The moving out of the entire Palestinian population, any movement of a people in occupied territory out of that territory, is forced displacement,” he said.

Heartland Signal posed the question of using the military for Trump’s Gaza plan to state lawmakers who represent areas of the Midwest with a high volume of military recruitment, including Marinette, Wis., Mille Lacs, Minn., and Arenac, Mich. Many lawmakers did not respond to requests to comment, while Minnesota state Rep. Issac Schultz (R-Upsala) refused to answer because “this is a federal topic.”

Trump has threatened to cut off U.S. aid to Jordan and Egypt in an effort to pressure the nations into taking in the Palestinian people, an idea both nations have thoroughly rejected in the past. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains tentatively in place, with three more hostages set to be released on Saturday in accordance with the original agreement after Netanyahu vowed to resume “intense fighting.” However, Trump called for the release of all of the 39 hostages believed to still be alive by Saturday or “all hell is going to break out.”